Understanding the difference between right and wrong

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, November 13, 2004

Not the terrorists or organized crime, but the speeders, the loud motorcycles and the boomboxes.

By Alan J. Corbett

Dont look now, but the bad guys are winning in America.

Not the terrorists or organized crime, but the speeders, the loud motorcycles and the boomboxes. For Americans who still live by the rules these violators can be annoying. But theres something behind the behaviors being exhibited today that good people need to pay attention to because annoying isnt where it ends.

There exists now in America a group of individuals operating under a whole new set of rules when it comes to personal behavior. There is emerging mindset which flies in the face of long-standing social traditions.

Central to this new way of thinking is the idea that wants and desires alone determine actions. That is, if you feel like doing something, you do it. Rightness, wrongness or the effect of your actions on others is not a consideration because behavior is seen as a right and not subject to the judgment of others.

In such an environment, decency, manners and respect for the law dont count for much because morality is a matter of individual choice. This all comes out of the supposed "enlightened" belief that no one has the right to impose his morality on anyone else and that tolerance is the key to a better, fairer society.

To this end, schools, judges and even parents continue to chip away at the values once seen as fundamental to our American way of life, but which now are considered oppressive and intolerant. Courtesy, discipline and the concept of right and wrong dont figure into growing up in America as much anymore and it shows. The result is a group of individuals without a moral compass and no concept of the word "no."

Rules and laws which then attempt to say no to such people are viewed as stupid and unreasonable and their observance unnecessary. In short, if you dont think what you are doing is wrong, why stop doing it?

Evidence for such thinking abounds: parking in fire lanes, parking across the lines, smoking at the gas pumps, profanity in public places, aggressive driving, indecent clothing, boomboxes and of course speeding on the freeway.

Worse yet, many of those charged with preventing these behaviors  namely law enforcement personnel  seem to have adopted an attitude similar to the perpetrators: many of these things just dont matter that much.

I dont mean to say that police officers dont do their jobs  simply that when they look for bad guys, people on loud (illegal) motorcycles or those parked illegally are an afterthought. People violate many laws today because they know they can  theyve tested the waters and they know theres little chance of being cited.

Its much the same with rules. The sign over the express lane at Wal-Mart says: "10 items or less." Yet, because Wal-Mart doesnt enforce this rule you routinely see people with 15, 20, even 30 items or more in that line. The message once again: "Rules dont matter." And again the bad guys win.

So why is this such a big deal? Because once you get a bunch of people running around thinking that theres no such thing as "wrong" youre headed in a very bad direction and turning back is not easy. By eliminating "bad," "good" loses all meaning and society spins into chaos.

Already there are ominous signs of where we are headed. Things such as road rage and school shootings are new phenomena that, I believe, are extensions of the same selfish mindset responsible for the boomboxes.

We need to understand that someone who believes he has a right to blast profanity-laden music from his boombox in public could someday expand such rights to include more sinister behaviors. Why, after 225 years of greatness under a system founded on the rule of law and strong moral conviction, do we look to trade the freedom of millions for the selfish freedoms of a few? Isnt it obvious that one of the primary reasons for our success as a nation has been our moral clarity? It simply defies all logic to believe that by calling "bad" "good" we can make a better society.

Its time for the good guys to quit apologizing and start believing in what got us here. It wasnt tolerance and understanding that built America, it was values, faith and hard work.

Despite what you hear, our strength is not our diversity it is our oneness  a oneness of belief in the sanctity of what this nation stands for.

Freedom, honor, justice  these are the things that inspire great nations. Capitulation, indifference and moral relativism do not. Lets make the right choice.